Help information

This page provides information about what can be found within this dictionary, how to
find it and how to suggest changes to it.

Dictionary entries

This dictionary contains entries relating to Methodism in Britain and Ireland. These entries
have been categorised as follows:

person

occupation

place

denomination

school/college

subject

publication

organisation

other

Note: only those categories which have entries defined will be available as options when searching the
dictionary.

The content of each entry is separated into the following sections:

heading

the name of the entry including any relevant dates

main text

the main description of the entry

quotations

any significant quotations relating to the entry

sources

sources of further information

If there is no content for any section then its heading is not displayed. Clicking on a heading will hide or reveal the
contents of that section. Links at the top of the page enable all sections to be hidden or revealed.

Entries may also be associated with one or more occupations and to cross-references identified in
the text by an asterisk. These are listed on the right-hand side of the entry page. Clicking
on an item in a list will display its details.
If there are no relationships of a particular type, the list is not displayed.

Each entry may have one or more contributors associated with it. These are listed as
initials at the end of the entry; the full name can be viewed by placing the mouse over the initials (may not be
supported by all browsers) or by clicking on the initials to display a page listing all the entries
contributed by this person. (Where no contributor is indicated, the details of the
entry are taken from one or more standard sources of information.)

Understanding the interface

As with all web applications, the pages of this dictionary comprise words and images. Some of the words are clickable
(called hyperlinks). Hyperlinks are identified by being in a different colour from the main text and when the mouse
is placed over the text it becomes underlined. Click on a hyperlink to open the page to which it refers.

Pages which seek to display a long list of similar items may be divided into a set of multiple pages. Lists are
displayed in three columns; beneath the columns a page number is displayed with arrows which can be clicked to
display the next (right-hand arrow) or previous (left-hand arrow) pages. If there is no next or previous page
then the relevant arrow is coloured grey and is not clickable. If all of the entries can be displayed on a
single page, then the paging arrows are not displayed at all. The number of entries shown on each page can be
selected when searching for dictionary entries (see below).

In addition to the dictionary entries, there are also pages which display news items and details of the latest
changes. News items are used to bring users' attention to matters of interest such as significant changes to the
application. The latest updates page will list all of the records which have been updated to a significant degree over the
past 3 months. Both these pages can be accessed via the links provided at the bottom of each page. The
home page also displays the 3 most recent news items and updates.

On most pages, a quick navigation toolbar is displayed at the top of the page. This provides access to simple
searching options. Links at the top-right of each page, provide access to the home page, the search page and this
help page.

Searching the dictionary

Two main methods are provided for finding entries in the dictionary:

quick navigation toolbar

search form

Quick navigation toolbar

The quick navigation toolbar is displayed along the top of most pages, just below the header. It comprises
the following section:

type - a drop-down list from which a particular category of entry to be located may be selected if desired.

entry - a button for each letter of the alphabet which can be used to select all entries beginning
with that letter. An other button is provided for any entries which do not start with a letter, and
the all button allows all entries to be selected. After clicking one of these buttons it is
displayed in grey.

per page - a drop-down list which determines the maximum number of items found to be displayed
on each results page

list - a button which may be used to display the occupations with which entries may be associated

Search form

The form provided on the search page provides the following functionality in addition to that available from
the quick navigation toolbar:

search for one or more keywords

search of more than one category of entry

Keyword searches

To search by keyword:

Select the radio button next to the label Search for keywords (this is also selected automatically
when a keyword is entered).

Enter one or more keywords in the text box following the Search for keywords label. Separate
multiple keywords with spaces; do not include any punctuation.

Select either the radio button labelled Find all of these keywords or the radio button labelled
Find any of these keywords; the former option limits the search to entries which include all of the
keywords entered, whilst the latter option will enable entries to be found which contain one or more of the
keywords. The same entries will be found whichever option is selected if only a single keyword is entered.

When searching by keyword, it is also possible to specify which elements of an entry are to be searched.
To search an entire entry select the radio button labelled Search all elements of an entry. To search
specific elements of an entry select the radio button labelled Only search the following elements which have
been ticked and then tick the checkboxes against one or more of the elements you wish to search for the
keywords entered. Ticking all of the checkboxes has the same effect as selecting the Search all elements
of an entry radio button.

Searching categories

A search may be made of all categories of entry by selecting the radio button labelled Search all types of entries.
To limit a search to one or more categories of entry, select the radio button labelled Only search the following types
which have been ticked and tick the checkboxes for those categories of entry you wish to search for. Ticking all of
the checkboxes has the same effect as selecting the Search all types of entries radio button.

Providing feedback

The editor of this dictionary welcomes feedback on the contents. An online feedback form is provided for this purpose.
If you wish to suggest a correction or addition to an existing entry the easiest way is to click on the Comment on this
entry link displayed at the bottom of the second column of the entry page. This will open the feedback page
with details of the relevant entry already entered.

To propose new entries just click on the Feedback link
provided on the home page and enter the details of your entry. Please provide as much information as possible,
including any relevant sources. All feedback should be accompanied by your name and email address; a copy of the
feedback provided will be sent to your email address.

As a precaution against SPAM, a reCAPTCHA box is displayed at the bottom
of the feedback page. The two words shown in the image must be correctly entered in the box before your feedback can be processed.

Technical issues

This application should be compatible with all up-to-date releases of web browsers for any operating system. For the best
user experience your browser should be set to allow JavaScript and to accept cookies. However, the application
should be usable without these features. If you experience any problems with accessing the dictionary, try the following: